Swamped!

Is this the "Boston Crab" or the "Sharp Shooter"?

The preceding headline not only describes the Wednesday night beating that the Broncos delivered on ESPN, but also the reason that I did not post on the game yesterday...just swamped.

Kellen Moore is mortal...he threw an ugly pick on the opening series midway through what looked to be a long scoring drive. Whether Kellen misread the play or his receiver was in the wrong place...it was ugly. In typical fashion, however, Kellen was unfazed on the next drive and led the Broncos on a 80+ yard scoring march. Truthfully, Kellen didn't really make another error in the game finishing 20 of 28 for 325 yards and 2 TDs. If you want a tiny bit of perspective on the freshman signal caller, consider this: through 4 games last season, 5th year senior Taylor Tharp (who had a very solid year) had 5 TDs and 4 INTs and had completed 63% of his passes for 958 yards. The kid, Kellen Moore, through 4 games this year has 7 TDs and 2 INTs, while completing 72% of his passes for 1165 yards. Mull that over for a while...and savor the flavor.

The running game is going nowhere...but fast! The run game really never took off on Wednesday, but it didn't get much of a chance...IJ and DJ only ran the ball 9 times apiece. Harper scored two rushing TDs (both in the redzone) and Titus Young scored on a 15-yard scamper. The ballgame was really put out of reach for the Bulldogs, however, when Kellen Moore decided to use our largely ineffective running backs as receivers. Now, I don't know if this was a direct reaction to Louisiana Tech's defensive adjustments or if Kellen Moore decided to improvise—either way—it blew the game open and notched Ian Johnson a ridiculous 106 receiving yards on only 3 receptions.

The trickeration made a special guest appearance on Wednesday under ESPN's bright lights as Chris O'neill scored on a 44 yard pass from Kellen Moore, Vinny Perretta and Kellen Moore. Personally, I would've preferred to see a couple of more laterals on that play...something along the lines of: pitch to Perretta who hands off to Titus Young on a reverse...Young then flips the ball over his shoulder to Kellen Moore (who was lying prone on the field, feigning a twisted ankle)...Moore then gives the ball to Ian Johnson, who punts the ball to Perretta...back to Moore...THEN to O'Neill. These guys just don't "get" real theatrics.

Once again, the "D" was solid...allowing La Tech to flirt with the endzone, but never score. A few blemishes on the night for the D (big plays)...but they didn't break and, unlike last year, didn't allow big plays to kill them or their momentum. The defense and butterfingers allowed Bulldog QB Taylor Bennett to only complete 33% of his passes. If the defense continues their stellar play, the offense will have time to find their rhythm (they stalled on several drives) and learn to run-block (how can Kellen have 3 minutes to throw, but Ian has to try to squeeze through a 6-inch hole?)

38-3 ain't half bad. Kansas "only" beat La Tech by 29.

Another excruciating half bye week lies ahead and then on to Hattiesburg to play the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.

Want highlights?


A much timelier review of the action over at Statueleft's blog.

Kevan divvies up game balls.

Photo by Greg Kreller/IPT

Boise State-37, La Tech-13

Mark it down. Now underline it. Now pin it on the fridge. Kellen Moore and company are going to light up the Bulldogs like a Christmas tree in just a few short hours. If I weren't heading down to Bronco Stadium in short order, I would give you more details. Suffice it to say, the Broncos are going to smack Dooley's dogs in the mouth and take advantage of the Bulldogs weak pass defense in a very large way.

IJ gets his hundy. Moore gets his trés (in 3.5 quarters). Jeron Johnson meets Taylor Bennett...and people will hear it in the parking lot.

How's that for concise?!

Dooley noted: Louisiana Tech WAC football preview

Part 5 of our WAC football preview is here. Today, I am examining the down-but-not-out Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The Bulldogs have been down in recent years, but they are always capable of killing WAC title hopes for any number of WAC teams. With a new coach and a new outlook, the Bulldogs might surprise some teams this season. Then again...maybe they won't.

Ruston, Louisiana's motto is "a city planning for the future"—and while a more fitting motto for the city may have been "only 5 hours from New Orleans" or "no worse than Moscow"...2nd year La Tech coach Derek Dooley is taking the city's mantra to heart and planning for the future of the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech hasn't won a WAC championship since 2001 (at the expense of the Broncos, no less) and has only been on the good side of .500 once since then...but the Bulldogs seem to have renewed vigor under Dooley and are hoping that this year may be the year that they get over the hump.

And to think you could have known only victory on the blue turf
Quarterback Taylor Bennett at one point looked destined to become a Bronco. Things changed... Taylor fell out of love with the blue and went on to a so-so career at Georgia Tech. In a ironic twist of fate Bennett was still able to experience the blue turf in a Humanitarian Bowl loss to Fresno State last year. Now, through the magic of NCAA loopholes, Bennett has departed Georgia Tech and enrolled at Louisiana Tech...where he will likely become the starter. Now, Bennett will again get to experience what playing on the blue turf feels like when the Bulldogs visit Boise on October 1st and thanks to Ryan Winterswyk and Mike T. Williams will also get to find out what blue turf tastes like.

Lookin' for bright spots
The Bulldogs should be better in the quarterback department after the departure of the not-so-aptly named Zac Champion. Champion threw for a mere 13 TDs last season while throwing 10 INTs...he was also sacked 29 times. Obviously the passing stats weren't great during the Champion era...but the 54 quarterback sacks in the last two seasons certainly point to another underperforming unit: the O-line. The O-line performed adequately enough to spring senior running back Patrick Jackson for nearly 1,000 yards last season...but clearly their pass blocking must improve. Thankfully for the Bulldogs...Jackson is back and they have junior RB Daniel Porter to lean on as well. Porter and Jackson may be the third best running back tandem in the WAC behind Boise State's Johnson and Whoever and Fresno State's Matthews and Miller. With consistency in the running game and better play from the Offensive Line, Tech should improve upon last year's 99th ranking in scoring offense...and they must if they want to finish higher than 5th in the WAC. Oh...here's a bit of good news—Bennett was 27 of 44 for 370 yards and 3 scores in Sunday's Fall Scrimmage. Good news for the offense, anyway—which leads us to...

Shrewish Defense League
The Bulldogs were ranked 91st in total defense last season, giving up an average of 424 yards/game. While not the worst defensive team in the WAC...they are far from the best—and their offense was not strong enough to allow for that kind of defensive production. By contrast, the top 2 teams in the WAC last year, Hawaii and Boise State, had national defensive rankings of 34 and 25, respectively. On a better note for the dogs' D, they nearly cut in half the amount of rushing yardage allowed from 2006 to 2007. Also, free safety Antonio Baker returns after putting together an all-WAC season and making 118 tackles. Baker is a solid player for the dogs and will lead their defense again this season...whenever your free safety leads the team in tackles, however, there are problems with the line. CB Weldon Brown will help Baker keep offenses from getting too deep into the La Tech secondary...but both, I'm sure, would appreciate a bit more help from the boys up front.

Dog Days
I truly believe that Derek Dooley is going to be a great coach...I just don't know if it is going to be at Louisiana Tech. Dooley's first year in Ruston saw his team go 5-7, which was a modest improvement over 2006's 3-10 campaign with Jack Bicknell at the helm, but Dooley can prove the worth of his contract this season if the Dogs can go above .500. That said, the Bulldogs face no easy task this year as their schedule is not a friendly one sending them to play at Kansas, Boise State, Hawaii, Army and San Jose State. Throw in tough home games against Mississippi State, Fresno State and a Nevada finale and the it appears that the dogs could replicate last season's record. I am going to go ahead and give Dooley the benefit of the doubt and say that the dogs will go 6-6 this season—I doubt that they'll get by Nevada, Fresno, Hawaii or Boise State in conference and the Kansas and Mississippi games will be toughies...but they should distinguish themselves as better than the bottom of the WAC and will be knocking on the door in another year or two. Though they are a terrible geographical fit for the WAC, I like Louisiana Tech and their fanbase...and I think that Derek Dooley will run a tight ship—whether that will translate into wins or a shot at the WAC title remains to be seen. Maybe next year?

Previous previews:
Utah State preview
Idaho preview
New Mexico State preview
San Jose State preview

Got Milk?

BSU got their mojo back—and they picked a perfect night. Friday night on ESPN2, BSU answered two big questions that had been swirling around the program for two weeks; the first one? Where the heck is our defense? The answer, on Friday, was: RIGHT where we left it, with Marty Tadman, Jeron Johnson (back after a 3-game absence) Kyle Gingg, Ryan Winterswyk and the rest of the crew—BSU's defense played phenomenal football for 3 quarters, putting big hits on Fresno QB Brandstater and shutting down the potent Bulldog run game. The second big question? Can two freshman running backs really move the ball on Fresno with Ian johnson out? The answer to this was a resounding "YES". Redshirt freshman Jeremy Avery and True Freshman DJ Harper exploded against Fresno and combined for over 200 yards in the first half of the game. DJ Harper had a breakout night, and possibly a pivotal night in his development as a Bronco; rushing for over 150 yards and a clutch TD run where he fought off multiple tackles and dove into the endzone. Avery looked smooth as silk as he made quick cuts, juked defenders and followed his blocks masterfully, en route to a 125 yard game and 3 TDs.

The Bulldogs came out quickly, matching BSU's first TD and then taking an early lead as Clifton Smith raced to the endzone after fielding a BSU punt. DJ Harper's TD knotted the game up at 14 and then a huge field-goal block by Orlando Scandrick and crew put the Broncos in position to kick their own—leaving the score 17-14 at the half.

The Dawgs have been known this year for huge second-half efforts, so the Broncos needed to stay focused and make the necessary adjustments—they did. BSU, behind terrific efforts by Avery and freshman kicker Kyle Brotzman, were able to outscore Fresno 17-7 in the second half—sealing a 34-21 win, keeping pace with WAC first-place team Hawaii, and winning their 6th game in 7 tries against the Bulldogs.

The stat of the game? BSU's defense held Fresno to 1 of 13 on 3rd down conversions. An amazing stat for a Bronco defense that had struggled mightily in their previous two WAC contests. Jason Robinson's interception on 4th and long was the night's only turnover and clinched the night for Boise. All told, BSU beat Fresno at their own game—they ran the ball down their throats. BSU outgained Fresno 282-89 on the ground and 440-352 in total yards. Taylor Tharp looked efficient and managed the game well for Boise State as the passing game never really took off, Austin Pettis made a clutch diving catch on 3rd and long to keep one Boise State scoring drive alive, and Marty Tadmand and Dallas Dobbs both contributed 9 tackles on the defensive side of the ball.

Fresno is a talented and, like the Broncos, young team and I was impressed with the following players: Marlon Moore, AJ Jefferson, Bear Pascoe, and Clifton Smith. With these youngsters and Pat Hill's tutelage—Fresno should be a force to be reckoned with in the WAC in coming years (alongside BSU, of course)

All in all, a very solid, hard fought victory for the Broncos who return home for San Jose State on Saturday. With the defense seemingly righting their ship, I expect pretty smooth sailing through November until the epic showdown with Hawaii (who is 8-0, but hasn't played anyone with a pulse yet).

The Milk Can stays in Boise for one more year.